Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Meanwhile, Adept Holly and Dark Witch Shani, who had been waiting for this opportunity in the dark, also received a magical message from Greem.

  “Now! Remember to destroy the elementium pool first.”

  “Hehehe. There has to be quite a lot of treasure in this arcane tower. Whoever grabs it first gets to keep it. Don’t get jealous of me after this,” Adept Holly cackled and charged forward without any hesitation.

  Meanwhile, Witch Shani abruptly vanished from the spot without a trace.

  A massive, earth-shaking explosion rang out.

  Adept Holly strode out of the shadows and appeared in front of the arcane plaza. Mysterious star substance surged out of thin air around him, forming into pieces of gleaming blue metal that quickly attached to his body.

  Adept Holly’s body grew taller and bigger with every step he took.

  He was a massive metal golem by the time he arrived in front of the arcane golems. He was six meters tall, his entire body covered in thick and heavy armor.

  Adept Holly laughed and fought his way into the ranks of the arcane golems under the horrified gazes of the arcanists.

  Chapter 1085 - Devastation

  The metal giant that Adept Holly had turned into possessed impressive might that far surpassed these arcane golems.

  The arcane golems that only reached his waist were so frail and fragile in front of him.

  Loud metallic snapping and crackling rang out as the metal giant charged like a stampeding bull through a china store. It immediately pierced through the army of arcane golems, its domineering figure appearing in front of the arcanists. The metal giant had knocked the arcane golems all over the place, large web-like cracks covering their rune-carved bodies.

  “Little brats, make way!”

  Adept Holly was hidden well within the astral construct. He extended a giant metallic hand, and countless blinding starlight descended from the skies, wildly ravaging the shocked and terrified arcanists.

  These dozen arcanists were of various grades. Some were young, and some were old. Some were male, while others were female. Without a single exception, every one of them was draped in fine and ornate arcane robes.

  As the violent starlight crashed down upon them, layers of dense and thick arcane light shimmered around their bodies, desperately protecting them against this fearsome power.

  If they were all Fourth Ring arcanists and enhanced by energy from the arcane tower, they just might have been able to defend against Adept Holly’s attack. Unfortunately, the most powerful one present in the group was only a Third Ring arcanist!

  The arcanists’ energy forcefields slowly shattered, one by one, beneath the splendorous beams of starlight. As the vicious starlight seeped into their bodies, they turned into human sculptures devoid of all life before even their human forms started to collapse and disintegrate, turning into scattered sparks.

  Not a single piece of flesh or blood remained of any arcanist that died in this manner. Their existence had been thoroughly deleted.

  The arcanists erupted, one after another, like blooming fireworks. No one could have expected that even death could look so beautiful!

  The eyes of young Arcanist Riant reddened as he saw his companions die one by one around him in such an unusual fashion. Insuppressible anger and rage filled his chest.

  He was a Third Ring arcanist, after all. He had much better equipment than his First and Second Ring companions. Moreover, the arcane tower had instantly applied an arcane shield around him. It had saved him from following in his companions’ footsteps and washing into exploding fireworks by that enchantingly blinding starlight.

  Riant furiously poured magical energy into the arcane shield to defend against the corrosion of the starlight, all while rapidly establishing a connection with the spell pool inside the tower. A rapid series of chants came out of his mouth. Several blinding beams of arcane light flowed out of his hands, shooting towards the towering metal giant.

  Unfortunately, his meager power was nothing to a Fourth Grade golem master. He had only one second of brilliance before he was crushed to mincemeat beneath a giant metal foot.

  There was a muffled squish. After stomping a Third Ring arcanist to death, Adept Holly promptly rushed towards the entrance of the arcane tower. He smashed through the arcane barriers while the metal gates had yet to shut, and the tower’s primary barriers not yet activated. Thus, he stepped into the tower.

  A slender, shadowy silhouette appeared momentarily at the gates from the energy turbulence caused by the shattered arcane barrier. The shadow lasted for less than a second. It cackled sinisterly and melded into the air once more, vanishing without a trace.

  “Alert…alert…alert.

  “Invaders have entered the arcane tower. All defensive systems activate.

  “All members of Arcane Tower Four, return to your positions. Defensive retaliation system will be activated in three seconds. Three…two…one.

  “Defensive retaliation system has been activated.

  “Primary barriers activating now. All entrances and exit on the first and second level have been sealed. Target creature is locked on.

  “Beep. Beep. Beep. Emergency alert. A second invader has been detected. Invader has breached the second level.

  “Passageways on the third, fourth, and fifth level of the tower have been sealed. Arcane guards are mobilizing.

  “Warning. Warning. Target Creature One is heading to Basement Level One. Initial estimates suggest invader’s target to be the elementium pool in the energy room. Enemy action categorized as a Class One Threat. Requesting immediate interception by tower arcanists.

  “……”

  “……”

  The elderly Third Ring arcanist couldn’t help but lift his head and sigh sorrowfully during the blaring alarms from the tower spirit.

  There was no need to probe the enemy. The fundamental strength of the enemy could be deduced from how fast and barbaric the enemy was in their assault.

  It was a terrifying enemy, more than a match for low-grade arcanists like themselves!

  If there were a Fourth Ring arcanist stationed in this arcane tower, those evil adepts that had broken into the plane would never dare to be so reckless. However, with the continued war, all the high-grade arcanists had been mobilized to the planar battlefield or Gallan Province to wage war.

  All this mobilization had left Arcane Tower Four weak and vulnerable. To think, the enemy had managed to penetrate so deep into the tower in just six minutes.

  How…how could this not make his heart ache!?

  As the current master of the arcane tower, the old man’s duty was to maintain the regional peace and protect these arcane scholars and arcane apprentices that had been with him for so many years.

  As such, faced with such a determined and unstoppable enemy, the tower master had only one choice. His heart bled as he pressed the arcane crystal in front of him.

  “All arcanists of Arcane Tower Four. When you hear this message, evacuate the arcane tower immediately, regardless of whether you are in your station or fighting against the enemy. I have authorized the tower spirit to activate the emergency exits. You must flee the arcane tower as quickly as possible. The…the enemies that have invaded today are too powerful for us to resist. Your only mission now is to protect yourself and make it to…ah—”

  While the arcanists of the arcane tower were listening to the tower master’s broadcast with bloodshot eyes, his words suddenly stopped. They were instead quickly replaced by a suppressed grunt of agony.

  A cold and elegant female voice then replaced the elderly tower master’s, arrogantly reverberating between the walls of the arcane tower.

  “Run…run, puny arcanists! This little ship is about to sink. You lot had better escape as quickly as you can. That said, I still want to play a little game with you before you flee. Let’s see which of you is truly fortunate enough to escape this arcane tower. As long as you leave this place, I will generously let you live; you ha
ve my word that I will not pursue you. But for those of you that remain in the tower……your lives and souls will forever remain here. Hahaha! Well now, let the game begin!”

  Dark, indiscernible shadows appeared all over the arcane tower as Dark Witch Shani’s crazed, piercing laughter rang out. These shadows quickly distorted and morphed when they arose, turning into dark, slender, and feminine shadows.

  These shadows looked very similar to Dark Witch Shani’s own profile. It seemed like they were some of her many shadow clones.

  These shadow clones all seemed to possess a trace of consciousness of their own. They laughed sinisterly upon forming and started wandering the tower, searching for the hiding arcanists.

  Meanwhile, the old tower master was now lying on the ground in the central control hall of the arcane tower, a gaping hole in his chest. The heart in his hollowed-out chest had vanished completely.

  Dark Witch Shani stood at the control crystal. Her mouth was slightly agape as tendrils of faint, black smoke slowly came out and merged with the crystal. In combination with the passwords and means of control that she had succeeded in retrieving from the tower master’s mind, Shani had managed to use her powers to erode the crystal. She had managed to suppress the tower spirit somewhat and was slowly starting to take over control of the arcane tower.

  A semi-translucent projection of the tower appeared above the control crystal. Every hidden room, hidden passage, warehouse, and storage facilities were fully displayed. Even the arcanists and arcane apprentices in the tower were indicated with red dots of various brightness.

  Shani laughed sinisterly.

  Whenever she pointed at a place in the tower, the scene taking place in that location would be magnified and projected in front of her. It showed the arcanists panicking as they tried to dodge the attacks from their own arcane golems. The magical doors that had always granted them free access seemed to have malfunctioned as well, leaving them isolated and trapped in individual rooms of their own.

  Shani reveled in the crazed expressions of the arcanists as she pointed with her finger and sent clusters of dark energy through the tower.

  A shadow assassin similar to Shani in appearance quickly formed wherever the dark energy traveled!

  The panicked and terrified cries of the arcanists soon filled the entire tower.

  …………

  Greem casually strolled through the arcane tower.

  The four adepts had already broken in. They were scattered throughout the different levels, slaughtering, or simply scouring for treasure. Everyone was doing what they enjoyed the most.

  Dark Witch Shani had taken over the central control hall and seemed to be having plenty of fun in there.

  Adept Holly had been studying and researching something in the energy room in the basement after knocking down the last arcane golem.

  Two-headed Adept Mangus was cooped up in the warehouses looting all he could.

  Meanwhile, Greem turned corner after corner, walked through door after door, and finally arrived at the knowledge hall in the arcane tower. A trail of magical doors had a human imprint burned through them from where he passed through.

  This place was only a small arcane tower in a rural province, after all. Their magical doors only had ordinary magic resistance and couldn’t possibly stop a Fourth Grade elementium adept.

  Thus, Greem broke into the knowledge hall and started using the Chip’s rapid scan and copy functions to quickly record the contents of every single book into his mind.

  A comprehensive and organized system of the arcane arts was rapidly forming in the depths of his mind.

  Chapter 1086 - The Weakness of the Floating Cities

  Reisin Garden, a floating city.

  As the largest floating city in Rian Province, Reisin Garden was the ideal holiday resort for all arcanists.

  The Reisin Garden floating city hovered above the Crystal Lake, beyond the clouds. Below the city was the vast and boundless Flowertalk Plains, where one’s eyes would get tired just looking at the sheer space. It didn’t matter which corner of the Flowertalk Plains you were in. When the skies were clear, and the white clouds could no longer conceal the massive body of the floating city, you would be able to witness its sacred and beautiful outline.

  It was currently the time of the day where the sun was at its brightest.

  Sunlight spread a gentle warmth throughout the floating city through the arcane barriers.

  It had magnificent gardens, pristine white arcane plazas, beautiful fountains that were the very epitome of arcane civilization, proportionate, unique, and elegant architecture, as well as arcane casters with books in hands that lingered around the gardens, marble paths, and fountains.

  Anyone would instantly feel peace and calm at the sight of all this. They would feel the dense, mature academic atmosphere of the arcanists– ‘to pursue knowledge, to yearn for the truth.’

  From a certain perspective, the arcanists were truly pursuers of knowledge and practitioners of truth!

  At this moment, several high-grade arcanists were sitting solemnly before a long table in the central hall of Reisen Garden. Sorrow, frustration, and anger were written all over their faces. They were all dressed in light-blue arcane-robes with golden threads drawing all sorts of mysterious magical runes on the fabric.

  Every single arcanist that could sit at this table was, without exception, a high-grade arcanist of at least Third Ring and above.

  A pretty female arcanist with a golden headband sat at the head of the table. She had an arcane emblem on her chest in the symbol of an open scroll. Five miniature quill pens rested above the emblem, representing the arcanist’s profession and grade.

  The open scroll meant that she was a scholar primarily focused on academic research, while the five pens meant that she had attained the Fifth Ring.

  Much like the World of Adepts, the upper limit of power in Morrian Plane was also the peak of Fourth Grade.

  As such, Fifth Ring arcanists like herself could only avoid backlash from the plane while she remained within the arcane barriers. Once she left the floating city and lost the protection of the barrier, most of her power would be suppressed, leaving her at the level of a Fourth Grade.

  Fortunately, she would still retain her superior energy application methods and combat techniques. That made her remain more potent than most Fourth Ring arcanists.

  It was also an important reason why the Great Arcanists were willing to enter the plane, even if they knew how dangerous it was to do so!

  Great Arcanist Freila looked around her and cleared her throat. It was then that she announced the main reason for the meeting in her somewhat hoarse voice.

  “We have completely lost all contact with Arcane Towers Four, Seven, and Nine.”

  Cries of surprise rang out throughout the table the moment Freila’s words came out of her mouth.

  Several arcane towers on the outskirts of Rian Province had gone offline during this moment of crisis for the Arcane Empire. It…it couldn’t help but cause the arcanists present at the meeting to have a bad premonition of what was to come!

  “What are the astrologists doing? The floating city has been providing them with so many resources and so much wealth on an annual basis, and they still couldn’t predict such a significant incident on the outskirts?” A Fourth Ring arcanist furiously slammed his hand against the table.

  “Indeed, indeed. Did Noyan not recently claim himself to be a master of divination? How did he not divine the enemy approaching us? Do we really have no clue who it is exactly that is attacking us?” Someone immediately stepped forward and voiced his agreement.

  A bald female arcanist in a purple robe decorated with astral images opened her eyes and coldly answered her colleague’s demands, “The Empire’s central command has already given out orders. All high-grade astrologists were to head out to Gallan Province to aid in the war. Meanwhile, the astrology apprentices that remain behind cannot deal with the backlash from all the planar turmoil
. The astrology platform has not been activated in the past few weeks.”

  “We can understand being unable to predict the enemy’s invasion. After all, the plane’s river of Fate has already been stirred into a total mess by all the otherworldly beings that have invaded. No one can hope to see anything in all this fog. That said, the enemy has now invaded Rian Province and taken down three arcane towers. Are…are you still unable to see anything even under these circumstances?” Fifth Ring Freila was the one to speak this time.

  The bald arcanist was only at the Third Ring, but her noble status as an astrologist allowed her to speak with Freila as an equal.

  Upon hearing Freila’s question, she closed her eyes in pain and started to speak with much difficulty, “The enemy is split into three parties! An exceedingly mysterious power cloaks two of those parties. Our eyes of Fate cannot even approach them in the slightest.”

  “And the other party? Who are they?”

  “Adepts. They are evil adepts from the World of Adepts!”

  The sound of everyone inhaling immediately rang out across the table.

  The invaders were only adepts, which made them much easier to deal with compared to the rest of the otherworldly opponents.

  However, that was only in relation to Reisen Garden during the peak of the Arcane Empire. The arcanists of Reisin Garden then would have had the power required to face off against the evil adepts. However, now that most of the Great Arcanists who were proficient in fighting had been drafted to the frontlines, there weren’t very many combatants left. The only Fifth Ring Great Arcanist remaining here was a scholar.